Iran, Saudi Arabia Sign MoU on Hajj
Head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Ali Reza Rashidian and Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Muhammad Saleh bin Taher Benten signed the agreement in Riyadh after a round of negotiations on Sunday.
Rashidian hailed the successful negotiations and said Iran’s main emphasis in the talks was the need for protecting the dignity, security and peace of Iranian pilgrims.
He also said the issue of Iranians killed in the 2015 Mina disaster was also discussed in the talks and the Saudi minister the case is being pursued.
Rashidan did not disclose next year’s Hajj quota for Iran agreed in the talks. Last week he had said he would urge for an increase in the quota in his talks with Saudi officials.
Last year, some 88,500 Iranians made the pilgrimage.
On September 24, 2015, thousands of people lost their lives in the deadly crush after Saudi authorities blocked a road in Mina during a ritual, forcing large crowds of pilgrims to collide.
The crush was the deadliest incident in the history of the pilgrimage. According to an Associated Press count based on official statements from the 36 countries that lost citizens in the disaster, more than 2,400 pilgrims were killed in the incident.
Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed, but officials at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization say about 4,700 people, including over 460 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives.
https://iqna.ir/fa/news/3862709
